Automatic fireproof window.



, PATBNTED JAN. 3, 1905.

i J.W.WATKINS. l l AUTOMATIC PIREPBOOP WINDOW.

APPLICATION FILED BEPT.10 I 1903.

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PATENTED JAN. 3, 1905.

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i W. WATK-INS.

AUTOMATIC FIREPROI-I WINDOW. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10, 1903.'

Flein HUI/Z PATENTBD JAN. 8, 1905.

J. W. WATKI'NS.

AUTOMATIC FIREPROOF WINDOW.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.10 1903.

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:NVETOR: lv. Markham MEW@ PATENTED JAN. 3, 1905.

J. W. WATKINS.

' AUTOMATIC PIREPROOF WINDOW.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10, 1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented January 3, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. VVATKINS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC FIREPROOF WINDOW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 778,927, dated January3, 1905. Application filed SeptemberlO, 1903. Serial No. 172,566.

T0 (1J/Z whom t may concern:

' Be it known that I, JOHN W.WATKINs, acitizen of the United States,residing at No. 2223 East York street, in the city of Philadelphia andState of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Automatic Firep'roof Windows, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had -to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a fireproof window composed entirely ofnon-combustible material.

My invention comprises, among other things,a window-frame which isentirely constructed of sheet metal by the infolding and interlocking ofcomponent parts. It also comprises the sashes similarly constructed;also, means whereby the sashes may be removed from the frame withoutdisconnection of the component parts of either the sash or the frame.Means are likewise provided whereby the sashes are made capable of beingswung, as upon a horizontal pivot, in such way as to give access to theouter surfaces for cleaning or for other purposes. Finally, means areprovided whereby when the temperature of the room in which the window isset rises to an abnormal point bothl sashes, if open, automaticallyclose themselves.

In the accompanying drawings, FigureI is a front elevation of a windowembodying my invention. F-ig. II is a central transverse verticalsection of said window, having the central portion broken away forconvenience of illustration. elevation of the upper corner of thewindowframe. Fig. IV is a fragmentary front elevation of the same.4 Fig.V is a horizontal transverse section of one of the jambs. Fig. VI is afragmentary plan view taken above one of the jambs. Fig. VII is'afragmentary Fig. VIII isa fragmentary elevation of the rear lower cornerof the window-frame Fig.'IX is an elevation of the front lower corner ofthe same. Fig. X is a fragmentary edge View of one of the top corners.Fig. XI is an edge elevation of the lower sash, the central portionbeing broken away for convenience of illustration. Fig. XII is afragmentary elevation of the Fig. III is a fragmentary rear l frontupper corner of said sash. Fig. XIII is a fragmentary elevation of therear upper corner of the same. Fig. XIV is ahorizontal transversesection, taken on line XIV XIV in Fig. XVI, of the stile of the sash,showing the movable member, which is shown extended. Fig. XV is asectional view similar to Fig. XIV, taken on line XV XV in Fig. XVII,showing the movable member retracted. Fig. XVI is a side elevation ofthat portion of the stile shown in Fig. XIV. Fig. XVII is a verticalsection taken on the line XVII XVII in Fig.` XV. Fig. XVIII isafragmentary inverted plan view of the corner of said sash. Fig. XIX is avertical transverse sectional view of the meeting-rails. Fig. XX is afragmentary elevation of the front lower corner of the sash. Fig. XXI isa fragmentary elevation of the rear lower corner of the sash. Fig. XXIIis a vertical sectional View of said sash, taken on the line XXII XXIIin Fig. XXIV, showing the automatic closing device. Fig. XXIII is acentral vertical section of the same, taken on the line XXIII XXIII inFig. XXII. Fig. XXIV is a horizontal transverse section taken on theline XXIV XXIV in Fig. XXIII. Fig. XXV is a modified construction of theautomatic closing device. Fig. XXVI is a horizontal transverse sectionof said modified form, taken on the line XXVI XXVI in Fig. XXV.

I will describe my invention by taking up the several branches of it asalready enumeryunusually full in detail, because the method of infoldingand interlocking the parts is a matter which can be much more readilyshown in drawings than described. For this reason it will only benecessary for me to refer briefly IOO.

to the parts by the combination of which the frame is made up. The headof the frame is composed mainly of the piece A, folded so as to form themoldings, the seat for the top sash, and the front and back wall, aswill be best understood by reference to the cross-section of this -pieceshown in Fig. II. The upper ends of piece A are united by a flat pieceA', which forms the top of the head, interfolded at its edges with thefront and back edges of piece A, as seen in Fig. II. Each jamb iscomposed chiefly of piece B, which is bent and folded, as seen in Fig.V, so as to form both the outside andl front and back of the jamb,including the moldings. The face of the jamb-that is'to say, the portionwhich faces the sashes-is formed of piece B', which is folded so as toform the front and back runways for the sashes and is interfolded at itsedges, as shown, with the edges of piece B. The interfold occurs'nearthe edge of the eX- posed facing of the jamb, and by inserting itbetween the moldings and the runways it serves to stiifen the latter.Piece B is formed with a parting-bead in the shape of avery deep centralinfold 510, which is useful both as a brace strengthening the jamb andas a means for affording attachment between the frame and the buildingin which the window is to be set. It also serves to divide the jamb intotwo separate compartments for the sash-weights, thus avoiding thepossibility of interference between them. rIhe inner endl of this infold510 is fastened centrally to the piece B' by a series of screws 511,which at convenient intervals are inserted into nuts 51?, set in theinfold. This infold terminates at either end when it reaches the planeof the lower edge of the head and the top edge of the sill, the foldingof thecut edges of the piece B whereby this termination is effectedbeing shown in Fig. X. Piece B is interloclied with piece A by means ofa series of iiaps 5 5' 52 53 51 55 5" 5Fl 58, each of which projectsthrough a corresponding slot cut in piece A and is turned over at thetop, so as to hold the two pieces together. The sill is composedA of thepiece C, which is folded, as best seen in Fig. II, so as to form boththe front and back and top of the sill. Piece B interlocks with piece Cby a series of flaps 512 513 514 515 51" 517 518 519 52, which aresimilarly thrust through corresponding slots in piece C and turned over,so as to u'nitethepieces together.

The folding and cutting of the pieces B and C so as to effect theformation of the corners appears in Figs. VIII and IX, it being notedthat that portion of piece B which forms the front molding is cut so asto continue down on the outside of piece C, at the same time allowingthe turned-up edge of piece C to pass behind it, as indicated at c' inFig. IX.

As thus described the entire frame is composed by the properinterfolding and interlocking of the seven pieces A, A', B, (two) B',(two) and C.

It will be noted that the piece B' is not united to either the head orsill at the top or bottom. It is held in place solely by means of theinterfold along its edges and the screw 511. By

.reason of the exposed position of this interfold (not in contact withthe structure in which the frame is set) it is possible by loosening thescrews 511 to withdraw piece B' altogether, thus securing access to theweightcompartments for purposes of repair.

Sas/a construction-As usual, the top sash runs in thevoutermost of thetwo runways. It has attached to it (by the cross-bars to be hereinafterdescribed) two iiexible chains, which run over pulleys setin thepieces-B' B' near their top and carry the sash-weights in the usualmanner. The weights, however, do not merely balance the sash', asis-usuallyy the case, but considerably overweight it, so that the sashascends of its own accordp1sovided-Y itis not positively held in anylower positioni'nwhich it may beset. by means of similar cords andweights;` but the latter considerably underweight it, so that itdescends to the bottom of its runway unless it is positively held in anyraised position in which it may be set.

I will first describe the bottom sash.,` premising that in nearly allpoints the two sashesare similar. The bottom sash is shown in Figs. XIto XXI, inclusive, and also in partial section in Fig. II. The topcross-piece or meeting-rail of this sash is composedof the three piecesD, D', and D2, which are interfolded, as seen most clearly in Fig. XIX.The top or cover piece D2 is prolonged outwardly and bentso as to form aiiap whichwhen both sashes are closed interlocks with a correspondingiiap formed on the lower in.- ner corner of the meeting-rail of the topsash, so as to produce a very tight joint across the center of thewindow. The vertical side pieces or stiles of the sash are composedmainly of the piece E, see Figs. XIV and XV,-) which is so folded as toform both front and back and inner edge, including the moldings andgroove for the glass, which latter is marked e. The remainder of eachstile-namely, the' `edge which slides in the runway-fis formed of amovable or telescopic piece E', folded as seen in Figs. XIV and XV, itsside edges be'- ing received into corresponding slots formed by thedoubling of thel edges of piecev E. When these two pieces are pushedtogether or collapsed, as shown in Fig. XV, the sides of the sasharefree from' the runway; but when piece E' is protruded, as shown inFig. XIV, it snugly engages the runway, and the sash cannot be removedfromA the frame. The telescopic motion of piece E' in relation to pieceE is effected and controlled by toggle-joints distributed within theStiles at con- The bottomsashish-ung IOO IIO

'venient verticaldistances'. In a sash of ordinary size two may beemployed. Each of these toggle-joints consists of two links ff, pivotedtogether. The projecting end of piece f is pivoted to the piece E', asseen in Fig. XIV. The projecting end of piece f carries a longertransverse pivot f2, which runs across between the sides of piece E, inwhich it is set, and is formed at one end with a projecting square stemsuitable to be engaged with a key. The ends of the links f f which arepivoted together form aknuckle-joint, which can move but a shortdistance below its central or fully-open position because of thestoppiece f3, its extreme position being shown in Fig. XVI, in which thepiece E is fully projected and rmly held against lateral pressure unlesslink f is turned by the key upon lits pivot f2 and brought to theposition shown in Fig. XVII, in which piece E is withdrawn, so astoallow removal of the sash or its rotation for cleaning or otherpurposes, as hereinafter described. The bottom rail of the sash isformed of two pieces Gr Gr, interfolded, as seen in the sectionappearing in Fig. II. At the corners the Stiles and the rails of eachsash are interlocked to form a firm joint by means of a series of fiapsprojecting from the rails and entering corresponding slots in the stilesand fastened by turning over, all of which is clearly shown and will bereadily understood from the drawings. Thus the entire sash is formed byinterfolding of sheetmetal pieces lengthwise and the interlocking of thesame at the corners without the use of screws, bolts, or rivets, whichgive way under the influence of intense heat. When the rails and -Stileshave been united for the formation of the sash, the glass-groove e iscompletely formed, and by removing piece D2 the glass, which ispreferably wire-glass,'may be slipped down into the groove and held inplace by again inserting piece D2, which is in turn held in place byturning over the flaps e', which appropriately project from the piece E,as seen in Figs. XI and XIX. It will be seen that the interfold betweenthe edges of the pieces D2 and the edges of the other pieces is entirelyformed in the plane of the sash. It therefore results that when thefiapse are turned back the piece D2 may be raised out of place withoutthe necessity of moving the window from the frame.

The top sash is formed in all respects similarly to the bottom sash,except that the meeting-rail which is provided with the overlapping flapD2 is here the bottom' rail, its Hap being marked H in Fig. XIX.

Autoritratto closing Zanica-I have already stated that both the upperand lower sashthe former by reason of its overweight and the latter byreason of its u'nderweightmaintain themselves in their closed positionsexcept when they are otherwise placed and held by a friction device,which I will now describe.

This friction device or friction-shoe is attached approximatelycentrally to both stiles of both of the sashes. They are all alike, andI will therefore describe but one. It is represented in Figs. XXII toXXIV of the drawings, where, as before, E is the single piece of sheetmetal out of which the main part of the stile is formed, and E themovable or telescopic piece which forms the outer edge of the stilefitting in the runway. K is a friction-shoe set against the outer edgeof the stile and supported upon a cross-bar 7s, which passes through asuitable opening in the side of the piece E. The inner end of thiscross-bar is attached to a long fiat metal spring J, which runs down theinterior of the stile nearly centrally and is near the bottom deflectedtoward the inner edge, against which it finds its point of attachment.The normal pressure of this spring tends to force the shoe K outwardlyagainst the side of the jamb, but not with sufficient pressure to holdthe sash in an opened position. In order to increase the pressure ofthis spring sufciently to enable it to hold the sash, there is provideda link M, pivoted against the inner edge of the stile at m and havingits free end bearing against the extended upper end of the flat springIn'. To this link M is attached a long rod N, which reaches down to nearthe bottom of the stile, where 'it is attached to a nut n upon a screwa', the head of which is seated in a countersunk cap n2 in the bottomedge of thesash, where it may be turned for adjustment from the outside.By sufficiently tightening this screw the rod N may be drawn so as tocause the link M to press against the spring it" sufliciently to forcethe shoe K outwardly with such pressure asv to maintain the sash in anyopen position in which it may be placed. Within the cap n2 at the bottomof the sash a fusible plug P is inserted between the end of the cap andthe head of the screw. There is also a coiled spring p interposedbetween the end of the cap and the nut a. Ifnow by reason of any unduerise of the temperature inthe room in which the window is set thefusible plug P is caused to melt, the pressure of the spring pimmediately forces the rod N and the link M upward, thus releasing theshoe K from that pressure which maintained it in its open position andallowing it torise or fall, as the case may be, to its closed position,thus in the case of fire bringing about the immediate closure of allopen windows in a building fitted with my invention. It will be observedthat the cross-bar 7G, which connects the shoe K with the spring la', isnot integral throughout, but is broken at one point, with interpositionof an axial pivot g. The purpose of this is to allow the sash to beswung upon this pivot when required, so as to obtain access to itsoutside-as, for instance, for cleaning purposes-without the necessity ofremoving the entire shoe from its runway.

IOO

Aas

To'effect this, the telescopic piece E is withdrawn into its collapsedposition by means of the keys which have been spoken of withoutreleasing or altering the pressure which forces the shoe K out withforce enough to hold the sash in position. In this way'the sides of thesash are freed from all connection with the jambs, except that resultingfrom the shoe K. In this connection the entire sash may be partiallyrotated on the cross-bars lr, (which are in alinement with each other)as upon a pivot. The sash-chains being attached to the crossbars do notinterfere with this swinging of the sashes.

In Figs. XXV and XXVI, I have shown an alternative form of the automaticpressure device for the shoes of the sash. The shoe, the bar 7s, and thespring lo remain as heretofore described; but instead of employing thelink M and the rod N the necessary pressure upon the spring is obtainedby means of a screw R, which engages a threaded aperture near the top ofthe spring r'. This screw finds its point of resistance in a fusiblestrip r, which runs from one side of the stile to the other, as seen inFig. XXVI. By suitably tightening the screw R, for which purpose a holer is arranged alongside its head, the requisite pressure may be obtainedto operate the shoe, while, as before, any undue rise of temperaturemelts the fusible strip r, releasing the pressure and allowing thesashes to close themselves.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. A jamb for anon-combustible windowframe consisting of two pieces of sheet metalunited by the interfolding of their proximate edges; one of which formsthe facing with its runways; while the other forms the rest of the jamb;and a parting-bead, in the shape of an approximately central infold ofthe lastmentioned piece, to the extremity of which the first-mentionedpiece is detachably secured, substantially as described.

2. A jamb for a non-combustible windowframe formed by the union of twopieces of sheet metal; and strengthened by an approximately centralVertical infold, extending from one of the pieces, and united at its topto the other piece, substantially as described.

3. A non-Combustible window-sash, the meeting-rail of which is formed ofthree pieces of sheet metal interfolded with each other along theiredges, one forming the front, one the back, and one the cover-piece; theinterfolds between the edges of the cover-piece and the edges of theother-'pieces being wholly in the plane ofthe sash, whereby thecover-piece may be removed for the insertion or removal of the glasswithout removing the sash from the frame, substantially as described.

4;. A non combustible window sash, the meeting-rail of which is formedof three pieces of sheet metal interfolded with each other; thecover-piece being interfolded along its edges with the edges of theother pieces by folds in the plane of the sash, and held in place byflaps projecting from the. Stiles of the sash, with which it isinterlocked by their being turned over, substantially as described.

5. A non-combustible window-sash, the upper rail of which is formed ofthree pieces of sheet metal which form respectively the front, the backand the cover piece; the lower edges of the front and back pieces beingseparated from each other for the reception of the glass; the upperedges of the front and back pieces being turned in to form the uppercorners of the rail, and then running first down and then up so as toform deep folds in planes parallel with the glass, one on either sidethereof; and the cover-piece having its edges turned downwardly so as tobe received and held within said folds, substantially as described.

6. A window-sash provided with atelescopic outer edge along the stilefitting the runway; and one or more toggle-joints uniting the telescopicpiece to the stile; the link of said toggle-joint which is attached tothe stile having the end of its pivot formed to fit a suitable key, andprojecting through to the accessible side of the stile, substantiallyas-described.

' 7. In a window-sash the combination of a stile with a telescopic outeredge fitting the runway; and one or more toggle-joints uniting thetelescopic piece to the stile, the link which is attached to the stilehaving the end of its pivot formed to fit a suitable key, and projectingthrough to the accessible side of the stile; said toggle being providedwith a knuckle-joint, where these links are pivoted, whereby it isprohibited from further motion after the central pivot is depressedslightly below the vertical, substantially as described.

8. In a non-combustible window-sash which by its weight or overweighttends to close itself; a shoe projecting from the side of the stile intothe runway; a flat spring upon one end of which said shoe is mounted,the other end being attached to the stile; and means whereby pressure ofsaid spring effective to project the'shoe with force enough to main- IOOIIO

tain the sash in its open position` is obtained by adjustment of ascrew, the resistance-point of which is a fusible plug, upon the meltingof which said effective pressure is released, substantially asdescribed. v

9. In a non-combustible window the combination of a sash which by itsweight or overweight tends to close itself; a pivoted rotatable shoeprojecting midway from the stile of the sash into the runway; a springtending to force said shoe into the runway; and means whereby pressureof said spring effective to maintain the sash in its open position isobtained by the adjustment of a screw, the head of which rests wit-hina' cap countersunk within the bottom rail of the sash; and a fusible1903, in the presence of two subscribing witplug interposed between thehead of the screw nesses. and the end oi' the cap, by the meltingq ofwhich the pressure of the spring is released, substan- JOHN W' WATKINS 5tially as described. Witnesses:

In testimony whereof I have signed-my name JAMES H. BELL,

to this specification, this 31st day of August, M. K. TRUMBORC.

